Her Knight in Shining Armani
by hopelessromantic0707
Summary: Jenny/Nate Oneshot Jenny calls Nate after Agnes burns her sketches. References 2x09 and based on promo for 2x10


Jenny Humphrey was numb. Twenty minutes ago, she had been on her way to becoming one of the hottest fashion designers to hit New York in over a decade. Now her world was crumbling around her. She had no future, no friends, her father and brother weren't speaking to her, everything was a complete and utter mess. Bracing herself against the side of the nearest building, Jenny sat on the grimy sidewalk, pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed. After about five minutes, the sobs were reduced to nothing more than silent tears making a path of charcoal-black eyeliner visible on her cheeks. She knew she couldn't call her father or Dan because that would be admitting defeat; they wouldn't help her figure out a plan, they'd say it was a sign she needed to start living in reality again. Serena? Eric? No, they were probably both busy with some charity event that Bart had coerced them into attending. Vanessa? Jenny took out her phone and punched in the first three digits of Vanessa's number before she remembered the whole fiasco at the guerilla fashion show the week before. Vanessa hadn't spoken to her or returned any of her thousand-and-one calls since that night; kissing Nate in front of V had affectively ended their friendship. Though the memory was painful, it provided Jenny with an idea of who she could call. Nate. She quickly punched in his number, hitting TALK before she could change her mind.

"Hey Jenny."

Just hearing his voice made her feel better; he was so sweet and wonderful and he would do almost anything to help her- always the knight in shining Armani. What would she say to him? Maybe he was as confused about the other night as she was. Suddenly, his voice came across the line again, bringing her back from the world that her many thoughts inhabited.

"Jenny? You still there?"

"Yeah."

She cringed inwardly when she realized how raspy and small her voice sounded from all the crying. He was going to know she needed help before she even got the chance to ask for it.

"What's up?"

His question provided her with the perfect opening. She had to take it.

"Well, Agnes and I had a meeting with a potential financial backer for JHumphrey Designs. She started saying all this crap about how the company was a collaborative effort but really I was just there to bounce ideas off of. So I got pissed and fired her, although I don't think you could even call it that because she was never hired in the first place. But…"

At this point in the story, Jenny's carefully put together composure started to crack.

"I…I didn't realize that Agnes had all my sketches and the business proposal in her tote. So I told her we couldn't work together anymore and got this really smug look on her face. Then, she threw my sketches…in…in the nearest….trashcan. I was about to get them out when she….she…Agnes just…she…"

Jenny couldn't finish her sentence because it felt like her sobs were strangling her, they were that strong.

She was vaguely aware of Nate's voice on the other end of the phone.

"What happened? Are you ok? Is Agnes ok? Jenny, you have to calm down and tell me what happened.

"She…I…She…Everything….I don't know what…to…do." She was past the point of being able to form coherent sentences.

"Where are you?"

She looked up and down the sidewalk searching for some small reminder of where she was.

"Um….at the corner…of 86th and…16th. In Brooklyn."

"I'll be there in less than twenty. DO NOT go anywhere, ok?"

"Ok."

Jenny sighed and flipped her phone shut. He was coming. Now all she had to do was wait. She pulled a fresh sketch pad out of her bag and started drawing some of the designs that had been in the portfolio from memory.

"Jenny."

When she looked up from her work at the sound of someone saying her name, she saw that Nate was standing next to her, looking very concerned.

"Hi," she said and then silently cursed herself for not coming up with something more profound, like _Thanks for coming to Brooklyn at some ungodly hour of night and helping me put my shattered life back together_. "Sorry if I freaked you out earlier on the phone."

"Freaked out is an understatement. I thought I'd get down here and find you unconscious in some back alley."

"Nope, unfortunately I'm fully conscious and can tell you every detail of this _lovely_ day."

"Yeah, I have a feeling you left out quite a few of those when you called."

Jenny took a deep breath and plowed through the twisted surprise ending to her story in a rush.

"Agnes burned everything. My sketches, the business proposal, the test shots, the business cards and contact information for potential backers, all of it. It's a pile of ashes."

Jenny felt tears begin to slide down her cheeks for the third time that night. Thankfully, these were the silent variety.

"Oh my God. Jenny, I'm so sorry," Nate whispered, sitting down beside her, pulling her into a sideways hug and stroking her hair. "Maybe I could talk to my mom and see if she can give you any contacts and I can help you out with the test shots. I'm not a photographer, but when you think about it, was Max really that good?"

A tiny smile started to make its way across Jenny's lips. "You would really do that for me?"

"I would do anything I could to help you," he said, taking her hand to pull her off the sidewalk.

The tiny hiss she let out when their hands made contact was not as tiny as she thought and Nate turned to look at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Noth-" Jenny started and then stopped when she took in his disapproving look. "Ok, if you have to know, I think I burnt my hand trying to save some of my stuff."

"Let me look at it."

"You don't have to. Really. I'm sure it's fine. The Humphreys may live in Brooklyn but we have heard of Neosporin, Nate."

One glance at his face told her he wasn't going to let her have her way. "Fine," she huffed but she didn't mind at all.

Nate gently took her hand back in his and turned it palm up. After a minute's inspection he said, "I think the blister already popped. We should probably get something on it so it doesn't get infected. Come on." He took her uninjured hand and they started walking down the street.

"Where are we going?"

"Duane Reed."

"Ok, you do know we have band-aids at home too, right?"

"Would you just be quiet and let me help you," Nate said, feigning exasperation and giving her a playful shove with his hip.

"Fine, but I'm going to Starbucks while you get the "supplies."

Ten minutes later, Jenny and Nate were sitting in Starbucks, talking and drinking coffee while he fixed her hand.

Jenny thought to herself, _How did such a crappy night end up being so fun?_

It was all thanks to her knight in shining Armani.


End file.
